We have 3 adult daughters who were adopted internationally. GREAT kids! I know things have changed, but how in the world do agencies accept families who cannot afford the fees? I remember having to get all sorts of financial information together for agencies AND the sending programs. We saved BEFORE we started each adoption. We borrowed from family, we borrowed against the retirement fund. We knew where the money was coming from when we applied, even if we did not have the funds upfront. I am pretty sure the question was asked by the agencies. It's an unfortunate fact that international adoption is expensive. I have no problem with helping families raise the extra money needed, especially if they are "working" that second job by offering products or services. I have a HUGE problem if "saving a child" or "rescuing" is part of the pitch. Sometimes, adoption can be a grindingly long haul with years to save for the final fees, but sometimes they go a lot quicker than expected! Our last one was so much faster than we had experienced before and expected! Thank goodness we had a plan in place! I believe the vast majority of families are just like we were. I don't know any family who feels entitled to their children or entitled to adopt. Have known of a few who felt they had saved or rescued their kids, but we did not run in the same circles.

Won't he be traveling on the company's expense? I think the coverall is a great idea, but I would also be using the hotel's laundry service and putting it on the expense account. I never take jeans when travelling overseas because they are too heavy and don't dry. My husband, on the other hand, can't imagine life without jeans and sends them to the laundry!

We bury ours on the property, too. We have a wonderful man with a backhoe who comes and is so respectful about moving the horses. We had one put down here on the farm and another one who was put down at the vet clinic, but we had him transferred home. My wonderful husband arranged that one. The sheep we have dug our own and buried. It's really hard . . . a friend of mine told me that if we are going to have livestock we are going to have dead stock. Sad but true.

I think you do need a bit more time. We have moved a lot as my husband was career AF and we have moved due to corporate relocations since he retired. It's MUCH harder in the civilian world so don't be too discouraged by your sister-in-law's comments. I think there are definite patterns to a move, whether it is around the world, around the corner or someplace in between. First is the honeymoon stage where everything is new and exciting, then there is the stage where nothing is right. Maybe we didn't like the place we lived before, but at least it was familiar! Now we can't work out the traffic, the parking, where the best grocery store is, etc. No friends, no nothing now that the initial busy-ness of the move is over, the initial excitement of discovering new things has passed. But it does get better! Winter is a tough time to move. I hated Seattle when we first moved to the area . . . .it was dark and dreary, people actually said to me that they liked the dynamics of the homeschool group and that while we could visit, we weren't really welcomed to join. That was our first civilian move and it was awful and I never thought I would find my place. But we did. And grew to love the area. Ten years later, we moved here to Australia and went through the same thing: Honeymoon, Everything is terrible, OK maybe it's not that bad and then realising we like it here! In both cases, my husband trotted straight off to work, had work friends and really, not so much changed for him as it did for the children and I. I think that is normal. He didn't get how hard it was for me. Spring is coming and things always seem nicer in the spring!

My oldest, who is now married with 2 kids and a third on the way, got her first horse at age 14, the middle daughter was about the same age and my youngest is now 19 and got her first pony at age 6. There is something very, very special between the girls and their horses. I cannot imagine the teen years without Pony Club, and the friends we made along the way. The girls got into dressage and then eventing. Eventing is a very humbling discipline and the supporters are passionate about their sport of choice. I often find myself at an event, thinking how blessed we are to be able to do this. We started like most . . . bought one horse. Then needed a trailer to get it places, which meant a vehicle to pull it. Then a little farm, a bigger trailer, an arena . . . Horse stuff is very crazy!

We are expats living in Australia. We have now been here 14 years and obviously are settled in well! The company we originally came with (it was a corporate move) handled all the tax issues. Every country is different and there are various ways the big corporations pay. Now that my husband is no longer working for a US corporation, we found a good tax guy here who specialises in US tax stuff for expats. He's great. There are firms around the world who specialise in expat tax issues. Homeschooling was a breeze for us because basically no one cared. We weren't Australian citizens, the kids weren't Australian citizens and had never been in an Australian school. I used US curriculum, which was my stock answer if anyone asked. Lots of expats enrol the kids in a US based program which seems to make everyone happy. No one in the US cares because you are not in the US so you aren't anyone's problem. Maybe in France they come looking for you, but that was never the case here. I would have happily conformed to whatever rules we needed to, if it came to that, but like I said, no one really cared about a family who was here on a foreign posting for a few years. Totally agree about getting a good relocation service. Ours was invaluable when we first came. My daughter and I are headed to France next month on a holiday! I am SO excited as I have never been to Europe before. Paris for a week, then Normandy for the World Equestrian Games.

How late is too late to learn a new skill set? It's never too late! It makes me very cranky when parents are forced to feel like their child is behind because they didn't start dance at 3 or soccer at 5. I think that's a bit silly. My daughter, at age 16, decided that Irish Dance would be fun to learn. I had a terrible time finding a class for her because most beginners are 6 and that is where the classes are targeted. The reason a 16 year old doesn't "fit" in a beginner class for 6 year olds is because what takes a 6 year old a year to perfect, the 16 year old has down in a lesson or two. An 8 or 9 year old is going to catch up quickly with the kids who started soccer at 5. We are a horse family. I can assure you that if money is a problem, avoid riding lessons like the plague!! From those innocent first riding lessons to where we are today . . . a farm with 6 horses! And competitions most weekends. I have 4 kids. There was no way they could all do everything. As they got older, each child could do one main extra-curricular. Children One and Three were soccer kids. They loved the sport and were on competitive teams. Children Two and Four chose riding lessons. I was a very bad Dance Mom as I refused to let one of my daughters do the annual Dance Production when she was around 4 or 5. No way was I going to pay $$$$ for her to be a mushroom for a few minutes. Crazy stuff. I got lots of "advice" over that one. LOL

Totally agree. I would have disqualified her, no questions asked. But I was not the judge or the organiser. Earlier in the day, when she was first on and wasn't ready, I did not let her into the warm up until there was a break. She wasn't happy, but I don't much care. I did speak with the mother about both instances. She made all sorts of excuses for the kid. What did get her attention was when I mentioned that the other adults present were very unimpressed with her daughter. I'm not sure we can lay the blame on every other adult she interacts with. I just think that people don't want to have the argument. Who wants to argue with someone else's rude kid who won't back down? This was a Pony Club event, so every adult there was a volunteer and "just a parent." She may not have been disqualified, but perhaps the natural consequences are the loss of friendship and respect from the other parents and kids. Which is probably worse than loosing a competition.

This thread caught my attention because of an incident that happened this weekend with a friend's 18 year old daughter. The daughter has always felt that adults are her peers and that she is in a position to judge them as her equal. Her parents have encouraged this and while somewhat taken aback with the child is quite disrespectful, think it's OK for her to question teachers and any other adult that comes along. So this weekend, I was marshalling at a show jumping competition. It was my job to ensure that riders entered the ring at a specific time to keep the rings moving quickly. This kid was NEVER ready. She ignored the judge when he rang the bell for her to enter. She ignored me and the other marshal when asked to enter the ring. The judge rang the bell a second time and she just kept on swanning around the warm up. She wasn't ready. Now every other rider managed to be ready or if they had mismanaged their time, went in when the bell rang regardless. It's called being respectful of the judge and his time. It's being respectful of the other riders. The kid who thought the judge was her peer/equal has no respect for his time and certainly no respect for the adults who were there volunteering their own time. She had several rails down and proceeded to blame all of us for rushing her. The mother agreed she had been rushed and should have been allowed to go in when she felt she was ready. The attitude did not go un-noticed by a number of adults who weren't impressed. The rule in our house is that you do not have to agree with the adults around you, but you must show them respect. Life experience does count.

Just wondering why the international flights and the domestic flights are being booked separately? We travel a lot internationally as we are Americans living in Australia and find that the baggage allowance is always more on the international flights . . .usually two bags and a heavier weight. Domestically, the airlines seem to allow only one? We have been here a long time and it's been ages since I have booked a flight originating in the US, so I might be wrong about that. IF the flights are booked on the one ticket, the domestic airline will allow the international baggage allowance IF your are connecting to an international flight. How ever, if they are booked separately, you are not technically connecting to an international flight and so have to follow the domestic rules. Does that make any sense? When we go to the US, I only take one checked bag, but come back with two! Sometimes, I pay the extra baggage fees, deal with the wrath of the airline people and bring back an extra bag! It's cheaper than mailing stuff! I agree with TXBeth. Nothing wrong with a checked bag. I hate having a lot of stuff to deal with on the flight itself. It takes so darn long to get through immigration that the bags are usually waiting for you. I would much rather wheel a larger bag than carry a small one that is crammed with stuff. I strap that small one on the wheeled bag and off we go! Have a great trip! Thailand is amazing.

We are currently using Laurel Springs and like it. We are Americans living in Australia. Laurel Springs is giving us the opportunity for my DD to obtain a US diploma, in case she decides to attend university in the US. It also gives us some credibility if she goes to university here. My daughter is also a competitive athlete (equestrian). There is no way she could attend a B&M school and school three horses, take lessons and compete as much as she does. DD struggles with math and the school has been brilliant in helping us find a program that best suits her. We struggled along with me teaching her through her freshman year and decided it wasn't working because we weren't getting the work done. Mostly my fault! So, for us, it's been a very positive experience.

Are there other horses at the second barn? I agree, she will be very stressed if she's on her own. We have a mare like this. She's ok at home because everyone else is near by. She's ok if you take her out on her own. She's a nightmare if we take her to a competition (my daughter events) with one of the other horses. Falls totally "in love" with who ever happens to be in the trailer with her. And turns the normal horse into a love-sick puppy! The last time we took her and another to an event, I nearly went mad. LOL She wouldn't concentrate on the job, she was calling and calling if she was the one working and calling and calling when she was the one left in the yards, surrounded by other horses and with lots of hay! The sensible gelding was unsettled when HE was working. Daughter was cranky with both horses. We decided not to compete the little mare unless she goes on her own. It's annoying because she's quite talented and it would be nice to take her along. I'll be interested in how this works out for you.

Hi, My name is Jackie.We are an American family living in Australia. I am new to the forums, but not new to homeschooling! My youngest is in high school. I have been lurking and really enjoying the high school and college discussions. Looking forward to participating a bit more now that I have finally taken the plunge and registered!